TEXAS...

I had such a blast on my trip to Texas last month.... stopped in Kansas City for dinner w/ a bunch of my favorite Missouri friends & stayed @ my friend Stacy & Jerry's place overnight. THANK YOU! It was a long drive to Dallas/Ft.Worth on my own, but no problem. Just one quick stop in Wichita to check out a warning light on the truck, didn't want to end up in the middle of nowhere, did I?

I picked up Mom @ DFW... I think I know that place like the back of my hand now... spent enough time driving around in circles looking for her!!! Not fun. Enjoyed spending time w/ her & meeting up w/ a few of her friends. THANK YOU, Bobby Jo (& Mom!) for all of your help!!

BeadFest Texas was FANTASTIC for its first year... I had so much fun, especially w/ my Mom being there w/ me... the first time she's ever been to a show w/ me. I think she was impressed. :o) I definitely plan on doing it again next year. So much fun to meet such wonderful customers, meet new vendors & see many friends, too... I really enjoy shows, although they kick my butt.

Here are some pictures that my Mom took of my display, etc...

(click images to enlarge)

I met up w/ a sweet group of ladies who took me out to breakfast & talked to me about coming to Waco to teach a class in the spring! They were awesome, Lisa, Jenna & Jill... I had such a great time getting to know them... & I can't wait till next April!! It was also great to be able to meet a few Facebook friends in person... Gwen & Debbie. I just love meeting online friends in person... being able to hear their voices & see their mannerisms, etc.... makes the online experience that much more personal.

Spent a few more days w/ my Mom... drove down to Temple, TX for a quick visit w/ my cousin, Eric, & his sweet wife, Kim... so wonderful to see them. Took Mom by Blue Moon Glassworks in Austin on our way to San Antonio & spent the evening w/ my Uncle (Mom's brother), Aunt & cousin. It was good to see everyone!

Dropped Mom off @ the San Antonio airport (SO MUCH EASIER than picking her up @ the DFW airport!!) & picked up my friend Sue! (more below about Sue)

We had such a blast in Austin for a class w/ JC Herrell @ Blue Moon Glassworks! JC is a phenomenal teacher... not just because her beads are fantastic & fun to do, but she's so knowledgeable about glass & enamels & what she does... the hows & whys enamels work specific ways, etc. AND, she couldn't stress enough about enamel safety... putting just enough fear in us so that we, as adults, can make an informed decision as to how much protection to use & what kinds of conditions we should work in. (proper ventilation, cleanliness, etc...) It was just plain wonderful to get to spend some time w/ her, too. She's one sweet lady.

& of course Jim & Rose Berry were, once again, the ultimate hosts! Love them. Blue Moon Glassworks is such a wonderful place to take classes... sure wish they were closer!!! :o) It was wonderful to have some time getting to know them a little bit better after class @ dinner a few nights. Good times. Can't wait to get down there again!

We had a great time running around Austin w/ Donna Mehnert looking for the fantastic mosaic murals by Aly Winningham of Terra Firma Studios. Here, we found the mosaic bench surrounding the fire pit @ The Domain (phase 2), called "Texas Hill Country Birds". It's fantastic.

& spending some time w/ Lisa Reid (who I met last November when I was in Austin for Andrea Guarino's class).... & was so happy to have a little time w/ Anne Ricketts our last night in town. It was also wonderful meeting Martha Brogdon in class... we're friends on Facebook... always nice to meet people in person.  Funny, too, a woman that I met @ BeadFest was in my JC class, too!! How fun is that?

It was awesome to have my new great friend Sue Peoples fly down there to take the class & then drive all the way back to Minnesota w/ me!! We have met just a few times & are friends on Facebook, but had never spent any time together. It was wonderful. She's such a sweetie... fun & a talker, just like ME... we were never short on words, LOL, it made the ride home a breeze. Can't wait to spend some more time w/ her.

Anyway... what an adventure!! Can't wait for the next one!!

Till then...

~ Julie

TWIN CITIES BEAD BAZAAR...

The Twin Cities Bead Bazaar is coming up this weekend & I'll be there!! It's a great show w/ vendors from all over the US. Lots of great art glass bead artisans!!

Here's a coupon for 20% off any one item @ my table... print it out & come see me! 

See you there!!

~ Julie

SHOW DISPLAY PICTURES....

My first show displays were black & white, they were pretty cool, so I thought, but I didn't know anything. :o) In the fall of 2008, I did a few shows w/ Jennifer Ionta...her table is all coppers, golds & warm wood tones... my pieces looked incredible on it!! I asked her if she'd mind if I borrowed some of her elements & she didn't. If you look @ our tables side by side, you'd think we coordinated nicely, but they actually look nothing similar. The biggest difference is that she can set up & then pack her table up in less than 30 minutes.... my table, on the other hand, LOL, takes a minimum of 2 hours on both ends. I get so much crap from my lampworking friends (& others) for how long it takes me, but it doesn't matter to me...I like the look & it's really paid off. You won't believe the crowds it draws!

I took some pictures of my bead show table this past weekend. I really love this display. Photographed it looks really REALLY busy...like really obnoxiously busy, I don't think it's as busy in person & I can't tell you how many comments I get on it at each show I do. It's gradually morphed into this over the past year.

If you've seen my booth in person, tell me what you think of it....

Lots of pictures....

(click images to enlarge)

I look @ this picture & remember the trim that I bought to be sewn around the edge of the top fabric cover... it really needs it...

It's really hard to tell what's my table & what's behind me... kind of busy.

I definitely haven't nailed the best way to display my utensils, barware, pens & kaleidoscopes yet...

Notice my friend Brad Bernstein reflected in my mirror! LOL. (check out his website, he does beautiful work!)

One of the newest additions is this copper wire display that holds/displays earrings, chains & ribbons. Handmade, of course. It worked really well & looked so much better than the manufactured 3-tier display I was using before.

The little cream square dishes are from Pier 1... I have a gazillion of them & they're perfect for filling in spaces (can't have any blank spaces, you know?!) They make a really cool grid of squares & you can arrange them in tons of different ways.

Yes, my bead "trays" are wood photo collages (from Kohls)...I just wrapped the glass in fabric.

My new printer's drawer display worked out perfectly!!! I really loved it sitting upright the way it was (not my original intention)... I'm going to try to find some slim "picture lights" for it so it is well lit all the way across.

Here are a few birdhouses...

NEW SHOW DISPLAY....

Really quick post today... I'm getting packed up for the show, but took a quick picture of my new printer's drawer display... thought I'd show you, too.... I just put a few pieces up on it, so it's just a tease, you'll have to come to the show to see it full.... it'll be wonderful. :o)
(click images to enlarge)
Yes... I defaced it w/ small silver upholstery nail heads & lined each section in cork. Yes it's an antique & yes, I feel a little guilty, but it looks good, don't you think?? :o)

Don't forget.... print out coupon in blog post below for 20% off any one item & come see me!

BACK HOME...

Bead Fest Philadelphia was a success!! It was exhausting, but so much fun! I really enjoy meeting & chatting w/ shoppers & artists... of course I love selling my work & hearing all of the wonderful comments about it... very good for my ego. ;o)

Jennifer had a fantastic class... I really enjoyed helping out!

I got the chance to meet some fellow artists that I know online... I love doing that, it makes the online experience that much more personal!!

I took a few quick shots of some of the pieces I had out on my table since I didn't have a chance to photograph them beforehand...

~ Just a tiny heart to show off. :o)
This is probably the largest heart I've made (the glass is 2 1/2" long...3 1/2" to top of ring) & it's FABULOUS on!! :o) Definitely makes a statement!
I made it off of the end of my mandrel, first time I've done that, & I love it. I was asked to make a smaller version for someone @ the show... I'll definitely be making more of these... & I'm sure they'll all be smaller than this one... maybe!
Here's a side view for you...

I love this one...

Here's a little try of donuts for you...

these little puppies were super popular... I could've made another dozen or two & they'd be gone.

I love this lentil....

...ignore the white mark on the bottom of it... that was my color coded pricing. I couldn't write out all of the prices on the beads because of my burn, so I decided to do colored dots. I won't be doing that again, people don't like to decipher things, even w/ a list right in front of them.

Here's a donut bead that I made after I burned my thumb... I wasn't in love w/ part of the vine, so I electroformed it...

Isn't it fabulous??? :o)

I'm having fun creating... it's fun to see how things have evolved over the past few years...

TREASURES 2008...

I did my first solo bead show this past weekend in Des Moines, Iowa. From what I understand, it was a slow show, but I was actually really happy w/ how things went. I sold quite a bit & the response to my booth & my beads was fantastic... really encouraging. I was told by many that I had the best booth there... I don't know about that, LOL, but it was warm (if not a little lopsided, LOL.) & I think inviting. The lady who ran the show told me afterwards that many many people commented to her about me & my beads... that was great to hear.

I can't tell you how many people were just floored by my beads. I don't quite understand it. I mean, I really like them, LOL, but reactions make it seem like mine are quite unusual, which I can't really say they are or aren't. I didn't make it around the show at all to check out the other vendors...

I'm just really happy. I feel like I'm on the right track. It feels really good.

People loved my acorns. :o) I sold most of them.

Anyway... here are some pictures of my table. Working w/ Jennifer Ionta & her wonderfully warm table dressings & displays made me realize that my beads looked REALLY GOOD w/ the nice warm coppery, cream & gold tones....

rather than the stark black & white stuff I had used before.... so she showed me how to make the cute necklace display busts & such. The top tablecloth was a bit wonky, LOL, & is waiting for some nice trim to go around the edge (in from the edge about 1")... but I was really happy w/ the whole thing.

I didn't see that the top cover wasn't laying evenly until I saw the pictures... it is also hanging down too low in the front, tassles are hanging funny, too... LOL. Oh well. Brayden (10) came w/ me (for 3 days!) & helped me set up! He was good... really enjoyed wandering around shopping...it was a gem & lapidary show, too.... so he got some cool stuff.

It's hard to tell in the picture where my stuff ends & the guys beside & behind me begin.

Notice the grid of little 2" square dishes from Pier1... I just love those... think I'm gonna get more. I made the busts..... the trays are collage frames from Kohls... just mounted some fabric over the glass!

Brad built that wood shelf for me... I had him drill holes around the top sides & back, about 3" apart so I could mount the busts & copper wire "things" (to hang chains & earrings & such from) anywhere... so it's pretty versitile...
& the back side of that shelf is open, so I was able to tuck all sorts of stuff behind it, like little zip bags, boxes, calculator, etc...

So... all in all it was a great experience. My beads will be at the Twin Cities Bead Bazaar this coming weekend while I'm @ a class w/ Michael Barley!!!